The 10 strangest instruments used in rock songs

Then again, sometimes the greatest rock songs of all time don’t need the typical instruments to make everything work. Whether they’re considered cool or not, these unusual instruments would become a foundation of many classic songs, either serving as an interesting sonic addition to the track or becoming so iconic that they become a central part of the song every time they play it in concert.

While no one can claim to know every instrument known to man, thinking outside the box to get different sounds turned songs from decent additions to the album to bold new reinventions that no one had ever heard. For all of the great music that can be pulled out of a guitar, this results from artists running wild with different sounds.

10 strange instruments used in classic songs:

10. Glockenspiel – ‘No Surprises’ (Radiohead)

Most of Radiohead’s best material is not necessarily meant to be a pick-me-up. Across their album OK Computer, Thom Yorke practically teaches a clinic on how to make heart-wrenching music, from the silky sounds of ‘Let Down’ to the ambitious epic ‘Paranoid Android’. So when it came time to write a song that was about one of the darkest thoughts a human being could possibly have, naturally, it all came back to children’s instruments.

Influenced by the different sounds that Brian Wilson made for The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds, the band decided to use a glockenspiel on the song ‘No Surprises’, playing the distinct bell sound that keeps the tune moving. While the song’s subject matter is dark, the glockenspiel almost gives a playful energy to the track, as if it’s a suicidal lullaby.

While the band would continue to innovate throughout their time together, it would often be at the expense of natural instrumentation, utilising different electronic soundscapes on albums like Kid A. Still, the idea of using a glockenspiel for one of the most depressing songs of their career proved that Radiohead was already willing to shake off the shackles of typical rock and roll instruments.

9. 12-string bass – ‘Wherever I May Roam’ (Metallica)

In practice, the idea of a 12-string guitar doesn’t seem like the worst thing in the world. Since most guitarists want a fuller sound when they play acoustic guitar, getting a higher set of strings to fill out the track gives a certain jangle to almost any good acoustic tune. Although Metallica was never known to pick up acoustic guitars all that often in their prime, Jason Newsted had the idea of layering on a 12-string bass when putting together ‘Wherever I May Roam’.

Needing something interesting for the intro, the song starts with different layers of chimes and what sounds like an electric sitar before the rest of the band comes storming behind Lars Ulrich’s drum groove. While the sonic landscape is already huge, it’s Newsted’s playing that elevates everything, providing the signature crack before the band comes storming in.

Even though what he’s playing barely counts as a proper note, it’s more about the feeling that the sound evokes, practically pulling the listener down towards the floor as James Hetfield’s riff comes storming in behind him. While Hetfield could layer different takes of guitars on top of each other, Newsted’s opening bass crack did with one bass guitar which Hetfield couldn’t do with three.

8. Bagpipes – ‘It’s A Long Way to the Top’ (AC/DC)

If there’s one rule to all of AC/DC’s music, it’s not to mess with the formula. Although the band have strayed away from their signature sound on more than one occasion, it’s always about the power of Angus Young’s guitar that keeps the listener grounded throughout a tune. While Bon Scott could generally get the listener’s attention through the gravel in the back of his throat, he wore a set of bagpipes on one of their first introductions to the world.

Before the groove of ‘It’s A Long Way to The Top’ begins, Scott can be heard blaring on the instrument before the rest of the band comes storming in. While Scott would put various blasts of bagpipes in between the final take, most of the attention went to his voice, singing about the wonders of being in a rock and roll band and the gruelling work that comes with trying to become bigger than everyone else.

Though the bagpipes would be kept to a minimum throughout the band’s future projects, it wasn’t about making it the prominent instrument in the mix. AC/DC was about to become one of the biggest bands in the world, and one listen to those bagpipes is practically them announcing to the world their quest for rock stardom.

7. Vocal Brass Section – ‘Seaside Rendezvous’ (Queen)

Queen were always students of the recording studio. Up until the day that Freddie Mercury passed away, the band were willing to push themselves to their limits whenever they ventured into the studio, making songs that fell more in line with whatever style they were doing at the time. Even though the band wore rock credentials on their sleeve, Mercury and drummer Roger Taylor began a tongue-in-cheek section in the middle of the song ‘Seaside Rendezvous’.

Meant to evoke the kind of jaunty pop music from the 1920s, Mercury wrote the song with a bit of fanciful nostalgia, featuring some of the campiest lyrics he ever put to tape. To match the sound of the song, the band decided that it would be interesting to add a brass section, only to use Mercury and Taylor’s mock instruments in the mix instead of the full brass.

What made it onto the full tape is the result of Mercury and Taylor spending an afternoon making brass noises with their mouths, including Taylor’s amazing high notes towards the end of the break before going right back into the song. Queen may have been disciplined whenever they went onstage or in the studio, but the fact that they kept this in let the listener know they were never in danger of taking themselves too seriously.

6. Rubber Duck – ‘Drain You’ (Nirvana)

From day one, Kurt Cobain always wanted to make music that sounded different from what he heard on the radio. Compared to the hard rock that dominated the cultural conversation in 1989, Nirvana stormed onto the scene with songs that brought more attention to the authentic side of rock, featuring Cobain’s punk rock approach to guitar playing. Although Cobain saved his usual magic for his guitar, some of the weird sonic aspects of Nevermind came from his bathroom.

When working on their magnum opus, Cobain was known to try anything he could to ensure he got what he heard in his head. Although ‘Drain You’ had always had a moody midsection whenever they played the song live, Cobain thought it would be funny trying to add some unique sounds to the track, eventually putting rubber duck toys into the final mix, being heard in the background as the bass builds.

Considering how childlike the toy is supposed to sound, hearing it in the context of the song sounds almost menacing, practically sounding like industrial machines when the guitars come roaring in for the solo. While the song may have been about a sense of child-like innocence, Cobain found a way to turn what was essentially a kid’s toy into the sound of an emotional exorcism.

5. Human Trombone – ‘Triumph of a Heart’ (Björk)

For as long as rock and roll has been around, there have been so many limitations put on the human voice. While most artists like to sing what’s in their hearts, there are many more secrets to unlock when working on the potential of humanity’s oldest musical instrument. Björk may be able to twist her voice into different sonic shapes for every song she writes, but her a cappella album benefited from having a specific human instrument in the mix.

While much of the album comprises songs without any added instrumentation, the album’s final track features the vocal talents of Gregory Purnhagen, credited in the liner notes as a “human trombone”. Even though that kind of title may sound strange initially, he earns every bit of that description, twisting his vocal cords to make himself sound like the bass instrument during the song’s breaks.

Even though Björk has benefited from having many different styles of vocal singing across Medulla, ‘Triumph of a Heart’ is the perfect example of her utilising the idea to its fullest potential. For all of the great music that can be made with different electronic software and musical instruments, this is the result of what can happen when all you have to work with is those cords inside your throat.

4. Kazoo – ‘Crosstown Traffic’ (Jimi Hendrix)

Considering how much he has done for the genre, there’s a good chance that Jimi Hendrix didn’t need to learn another instrument for the rest of his life. While he could be self-deprecating about his own voice, Hendrix’s way of playing in communion with his guitar was unlike anything the rock world had ever seen, taking the instrument into new areas no one had thought possible. While Hendrix could throw down whenever he played live, he left his greatest mark in the studio on Electric Ladyland.

Embracing the sounds of studio overdubs, Hendrix would serve up a healthy dose of funky hard rock on ‘Crosstown Traffic’, playing some of his best funk licks while the rest of the band wailed behind him. Instead of doubling his guitar with another guitar playing the same thing, Hendrix brought a kazoo into the studio to double the part, making for a zany-sounding guitar break whenever it came on.

Even though any song featuring a kazoo would be considered annoying from its first few seconds, it sits impressively well in the final mix, providing the role generally reserved for a harmoniser or a healthy dose of reverb. While Hendrix may have been known as one of the greatest guitarists of his time, it takes a true musical visionary to make a kazoo sound kickass.

3. Theremin – ‘Good Vibrations’ (The Beach Boys)

There’s a good case to be made that any song off of The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds could qualify for this list. After making the most of the rock and roll formula by playing surf songs, Brian Wilson dared to dream bigger when working on his masterpiece, utilising every member of the session legends, The Wrecking Crew, to create new and exciting sounds whenever he walked into the control room. For one of their most adventurous singles, though, Wilson thought it would be interesting to throw something spooky into the mix.

Midway through the recording of ‘Good Vibrations’, Wilson put on a theremin to the final mix, adding a chilling atmosphere to the final track. Although the feeling was meant to be a little bit zany when put next to the sounds of the cello, hearing it in context led to countless other musicians trying their hand at making some strange sounds on the instrument in their own masterpieces.

Not long after Wilson started working on his song, Jimmy Page was putting together the basis of Led Zeppelin, taking a page out of Wilson’s playbook by putting a theremin solo in the midsection of ‘Dazed and Confused’. Wilson may have been told to adhere to a formula in The Beach Boys, but if he had written another record of surf tunes, the rock world would have looked different.

2. Breaking Glass – ‘Gold Dust Woman’ (Fleetwood Mac)

Every element going into the recording of Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours felt like a small nightmare. Outside of the living soap opera that was happening in real-time when the band walked into the studio, most of the tracks came together through pain, including one instance where Lindsey Buckingham choked out one of their engineers. While Stevie Nicks would have a more laid-back approach in the studio, one of her moodiest tracks involved Mick Fleetwood getting creative with percussion.

Informed by the copious amounts of cocaine they were taking, ‘Gold Dust Woman’ served as a reflection on the band’s state of mind while also being a way for Nicks to make peace with her past relationships. As the song continues to elevate towards the epic outro, Fleetwood knew he needed something more than drums when he had the idea of breaking glass on the studio floor.

Gathering sheets of different pieces of glass, the band recorded the ambience in the room as Fleetwood demolished them, making for some of the most unnerving sounds ever put onto a Fleetwood Mac project. While there’s no telling whether the titular Gold Dust Woman is a malevolent witch, the sound of the glass is practically of her rising from the depths of the underworld above ground.

1. Mellotron – ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ (The Beatles)

When The Beatles decided they were done being a touring band, nothing would be off the table in the studio. Having already tried their hand at moving into different areas on albums like Revolver, the band were ready to use any weird instrument they could so long as it made the final track better. While the band took some time to vacation in between making albums, John Lennon came up with just the song to steer them into psychedelia with ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’.

Beginning as a simple folk song that Lennon started writing while filming How I Won the War, the song came alive when Paul McCartney began adding the sounds of the Mellotron into the mix. Meant to sample the sounds of strings, the song’s opening notes feature the instrument’s debut, sounding like you’re being transported into the Alice-in-Wonderland scenario that Lennon paints with his lyrics about living with eyes closed.

Like many Beatles firsts, the Mellotron would be incorporated into countless rock songs, becoming a favourite among Led Zeppelin for some of their ballads and eventually making its way into Oasis songs like ‘Go Let It Out’. Even if The Beatles could afford big-budget orchestras for their song, they had the next best thing by having a string section at the touch of a button.

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